


The Mirror

by heros_wings



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse, Halloween, Horror, M/M, Suicidal Thoughts, seriously please don't read this if you can't handle suicide or suicidal thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 01:34:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12570744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heros_wings/pseuds/heros_wings
Summary: Jinyoung moves into a new apartment. The previous owner left a few things behind, including a mirror. It's odd, but he keeps it. A being appears in the mirror one night. It calls his name and tells him its name is Mark. Jinyoung knows he should be afraid of him. But he can't help it–he becomes obsessed. Addicted. The only way to be close to Mark is to dream. So maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if he never had to wake up...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you parkeunrim for translating this story into Vietnamese! https://parkoflibra.wordpress.com/2017/11/07/trans-ficmarkjin-the-mirror/
> 
> If anyone would like to translate this story, please just let me know in the comments, and link back to this original work on your site. Thanks!!

"The previous tenant left a few of their possessions," the landlord said as Jinyoung gazed around what would be his new apartment. "But we are happy to remove anything if you would prefer..."

His eye caught the mirror hanging on a wall opposite of where his bed would go. For such an ordinary apartment, the mirror's ornate bronze frame and intricate design seemed...out of place. The longer he stared, the more appealing it became. It was almost familiar. As if he had hung it himself.

He stepped closer and saw Chinese script engraved in the glass along the frame. It was barely visible and wrapped all the way around.

"Mr. Park?"

Jinyoung quickly looked away from the mirror. Seeing the landlord staring at him in mild concern was sort of like waking up after a very vivid dream; he barely acknowledged the other man and simply wanted to look back at the mirror. It was like a dream pulling him back to sleep.

"Would you like to remove—?"

"—no!" even he was surprised by the force in his voice. "I mean..." he amended, quickly fixing the landlord with his most disarming smile. "It's ok..."

Perhaps still a bit startled at his sudden outburst, the landlord quickly showed him the rest of the apartment and flashed him a nervous smile as they left.

A week later, with the last of his paperwork signed, he changed the default passcode on the door and shut it behind him. The apartment was still sparsely furnished with just a couch and end table in the living room, a lonely looking vase on the kitchen counter, and the mirror...

He wandered into the small bedroom as if by some invisible force. The movers still hadn't shown up and Jaebum had texted to let him know he would be late. So he examined the mirror, because there was nothing else _to_ do.

He ran his fingers along the edges, mesmerized by the Chinese script. He had no idea how long he simply stood there, tracing each character one-by-one, wondering where the mirror came from, or why anyone would leave it behind...

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Reluctantly, he stepped away and answered.

"Ah...Jaebum- _hyung_ ," he spared once last glance at the mirror before leaving the room.

_"Are you at the apartment?"_

"Yeah..." he shut the bedroom door. "The movers still aren't here yet."

_"They called me...they've been trying to get a hold of you for fifteen minutes..."_

Jinyoung pulled his phone away from his ear and checked his missed calls in disbelief. _Fifteen minutes?_ Sure enough...he had five missed calls from the moving company...

"Sorry..." he grabbed his keys and hurried towards the front door. "I'll meet them outside now." He hung up before Jaebum could answer.

 

"Interesting mirror," Jaebum commented, frowning a bit as Jinyoung placed another box next to the bed.

He glanced at it and looked away before the urge to stare any longer overtook him again.

"Yeah..." he shrugged,  "the previous owner left it."

Jaebum continued to stare at it, as if he was trying to understand something. "Odd markings..."

"Y-yeah..." he replied nervously, trying to smile as he ushered Jaebum out of the room.

Jaebum glanced behind him one last time, and Jinyoung caught the odd expression—like the mirror somehow made him uncomfortable. Or maybe he was just over-thinking things. It was a _mirror_. There was nothing dangerous about it, even if it was a bit strange...

By the time Jaebum left that night,  Jinyoung didn't even have the energy to change before he collapsed onto his hastily made bed. The exhaustion pulled him under. And across the room, a faint silhouette watched silently from the mirror.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun coming through his window woke him up. Grumbling, half-regretting his choice of getting an east-facing apartment, he rolled over to block as much of the light as possible. Today, he would get curtains. Thick, black ones.

A soft, breathy giggle made him freeze. His heart thumped wildly against his chest—someone was in the room. He lay perfectly still, ears straining, breath as slow and steady as he could make it. Maybe he just imagined it...

"Don't be afraid," a quiet voice said. "Jinyoung-ah."

He tensed. Whoever it was knew his name. A stalker? Who would want to stalk _him_?

Slowly, he lowered the covers just enough to peek over his shoulder.

The room was empty.

Far from comforting him, his pulse just raced faster. He scrambled up and looked frantically around the room. Still nothing.

He stared across the room at the mirror and saw only his own reflection staring back at him—tousle-haired and a wide-eyed, terrified expression. His shoulders relaxed as he let out a long, slow breath. Of course, he thought, he had been imagining things...

There was no getting back to sleep, so he showered, dressed, and texted Jaebum on his way to the cafe he had spotted the other day around the corner from his apartment.

Almost an hour later, he was telling Jaebum about the voice.

"Sounds like a vivid dream," he commented.

Jinyoung nodded, but couldn't help the feeling of unease creeping up his spine. He had definitely been awake when he heard it...

  

That night, as he was climbing into bed, a new book in hand, he heard it again. The soft, unworldly voice.

"I'm sorry for scaring you this morning."

He froze. Slowly, he looked up, almost too afraid to move despite the frantic hammering in his chest. Once again, he found himself alone. His eyes slid to the mirror.

He scrambled back with a great shout. Pressing against the wall as if he was trying to sink into it, he stared at the mirror. Unlike that morning, it wasn't his reflection looking back at him. It was an unfamiliar face. A handsome—no, _beautiful_ —young man with ash brown hair and a wide, pointed-toothed smile that reminded Jinyoung of the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland.

The man in the mirror smiled. Jinyoung's fear slipped away like sand through his fingers. Without remembering when he even stood, he found himself in front of the mirror, marveling at it. He could see his room reflected clearly, but rather than his own face staring back, was the ethereal, unfamiliar face.

"I'm Mark," the mirror said.

Jinyoung continued to stare. He must have fallen asleep. Mirrors didn't _talk_ outside of fairy tales and Disney movies...

The man's—Mark's—smile widened. Once again, Jinyoung thought of the Cheshire cat.

"You're scared," he said simply.

"You're a _mirror_ ," Jinyoung answered incredulously.

"No," Mark answered, "just trapped in one."

Jinyoung eyed him warily even as curiosity prickled at the back of his mind. He pinched the inside of his elbow and winced.

"See?" Mark was still smiling. "Not a dream."

He swallowed. It wasn't...panic...exactly. Or fear. He just couldn't shake the chill that ran down his spine.

_'Do not talk to this thing—'_

_'—but he's gorgeous—'_

_'—he's dangerous—'_

_'—how did he end up like this—'_

_'get rid of it—'_

"How..." he breathed, trying to sort one thought from another.

"Do you believe in other worlds?" Mark asked.

An hour ago, Jinyoung would have scoffed at the idea and answered with a definitive, almost condescending, "no." But now standing in front of a person who lived on the other side of a mirror, he would be foolish to deny it.

"So..." he hesitated. Once he said it out loud, it would become much more real. "You're...from another world..."

"No." When Jinyoung stared at him, he added, "I was put in here...I was from yours."

Curiosity finally took over the instincts that kept his muscles tense. Slowly, he relaxed, somehow as fascinated as he was afraid.

"What happened?" he asked.

"It's a long story."

He wanted to say, "I have time," but something in the back of his mind told him it didn't matter. That Mark must have been lonely being stuck in a mirror for so long— _how_ long didn't seem to matter. He had Jinyoung now.

 

They talked as if they had known each other their entire lives. Jinyoung felt as though Mark understood him as well as Jaebum did—maybe better. They talked about movies and books and music. Jinyoung talked about Jaebum and Youngjae and their friends from school. He talked about wanting to be an elementary school English teacher...

It wasn't until the morning's first rays filtered through his bedroom window, did he realize they had been talking all night. He flashed Mark an apologetic smile as he stood from where he had been sitting on the edge of his bed.

"See you tonight?" he asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Mark smiled. "Have a good day, Jinyoung-ah."

 

By the afternoon, he wouldn't even remember what they talked about. His mind wandered back to Mark and his mirror, making him wish he could go home just to make sure it _hadn't_ all been a dream.

"Well?" Jaebum's voice brought him back to the small cafe across from their University, where he was sitting on the couch next to Youngjae and across from Jaebum, who was looking at him expectantly.

"Hm?" he sat up a bit straighter.

"Tonight...Wonpil wanted to go to that new bar to check out Jae's band..." Jaebum replied patiently.

Youngjae looked at him in concern. "Are you ok?"

"Huh?"

"You seem out of it..."

"O-oh..." his mind wandered back to the apartment. "N-no...I mean...yeah..." he stood and grabbed his bag. "I'm fine...see you tomorrow..."

"YAH!" Jaebum shouted after him. "What about Wonpil?!"

He was already out the door before Jaebum could finish. His phone buzzed in his pocket but he ignored it.

His heart beat in anticipation against his chest as he reached his apartment. Would Mark really be there, waiting for him in the mirror, wanting to know about his day?

He didn't even bother removing his shoes as he entered his apartment and headed straight to the bedroom. Disappointment washed over him and his stomach dropped.

The mirror was empty. All he saw was his own, haggard, sleep-deprived face staring back at him. Sighing, he kicked off his shoes and pulled out his phone as he made his way to the bathroom. Jaebum had texted him at least ten times, asking if he was ok. After sending a quick response, reassuring him everything was fine, he tossed the phone on the bathroom counter, showered, then collapsed into bed. He hadn't even eaten yet, but he couldn't find the energy to do much else but lay there.

Maybe it really had all been a dream...

A soft chuckle made him jump up. He released a sharp exhale as relief flooded through him. He wasn't crazy. He hadn't been imagining or dreaming it...

Mark was right there, smiling at him from his mirror.

"Tell me about your day?" he asked.

The exhaustion that had been incessantly tugging at him all day disappeared, and Jinyoung found himself once again, spending another night talking until the sun rose over the horizon.

"I'm sorry..." Mark bit his lip as Jinyoung dragged himself out of bed to dress. It was so endearing, he couldn't help but smile.

"It's ok...see you tonight."

 

* * *

 

"You look terrible," Jaebum commented as Jinyoung collapsed next to him. It was their only class together and unfortunately also their earliest.

"Thanks," he muttered back.

Jaebum looked at him in concern. "Did you not sleep last night?"

He nodded and pulled out his books. Part of him wondered if he should tell Jaebum about the mirror—about Mark. No matter how he looked at it, he knew something was...odd...

 _'Even if you did tell him, he wouldn't believe you, anyway,'_ a small voice said.

And even if he _did_ , said another, what then?

_'He'd make you get rid of the mirror.'_

The thought of having Mark taken from him was suddenly so much more terrifying than a couple of days of lost sleep.

 

He told Mark all of this that night.

"Go to sleep, Jinyoung," he had said with that soft smile of his. It made him only want to stay up longer.

"But—"

"I'm sorry for keeping you awake," he cut Jinyoung off. "Please sleep."

Reluctantly, he obeyed, but it had been a restless sleep. He tossed and turned throughout the night, unable to keep himself from looking back at the mirror, only to see his room reflecting back at him, absent of the person he wanted to see.

At 4am, he finally gave up and rolled out of bed. If he couldn't sleep and Mark wasn't appearing, then he could at least get _something_ done. He started a pot of coffee and pulled out his laptop to start on an English essay he had been putting off.

His thoughts continued to wander back to the mirror, wondering if Mark would appear and find him gone. He bit his lip and forced himself to write a few more paragraphs before getting ready to meet Jaebum for their usual morning coffee (despite having already finished his second cup). Mark would be there tonight...he could wait...

 

* * *

 

"Hey..." Jaebum was giving him that concerned look again.

Jinyoung jumped as he snapped back to the small live bar Wonpil had dragged him to ("You can't ditch us this time!" he had said).  "Hm?" he had been thinking about Mark again...

The way he smiled...

The small giggle that seemed to bury itself right into Jinyoung's skin...

How quiet and soft his voice was...

The urge to leave and return to the apartment was so strong, he had to grip the edges of his chair to keep himself from standing.

"Are you _sure_ you're ok?" Jaebum asked.

"Yeah..." he readjusted in his seat and did his best to smile reassuringly as he picked up one of the soju bottles and poured Jaebum and Youngjae a drink. "I didn't sleep much last night..." he added, when Youngjae and Jaebum shared a look.

They tapped their glasses together and downed their drinks in a single shot. Jinyoung immediately refilled his again and finished half. He saw another significant glance between his two friends, but ignored it.

As the night wore on, the bar filled with University students and a few "fans" Jae's band had picked up while busking in Hongdae and playing in bars around Seoul. Wonpil and a petite girl Jinyoung remembered as Jimin, joined their table and engaged in a heated discussion with Jaebum and Youngjae over some idol group he had never heard of, so he let his thoughts drift back to the apartment.

It was late...surely Mark was waiting for him...

Before he realized it, he was already standing. Jae's band hadn't even made it on stage yet, but it was like someone else was controlling his limbs. He knew he should stay, but couldn't bring himself to really _care_ about anything except going home...

Ignoring his friends' shouts and questions about where he was going, he left. He didn't even remember how he made it home. Only that he suddenly found himself standing in front of the mirror, with Mark smiling at him from the other side. Jinyoung smiled back. The alcohol made his head pleasantly fuzzy and his limbs warm and heavy. He leaned his head against the cool glass, wishing it was warm flesh instead.

"I missed you..." he mumbled.

"Tell me about your day?" Mark replied.

Suddenly exhausted, he nodded and stepped back. He changed into a pair of sweats and climbed into bed, not caring much that he still smelled like alcohol and cigarette smoke.

"Will you tell me how you ended up in a mirror?" he asked as sleep tugged at him.

He curled on his side under the covers and stared at Mark. He had been falling asleep a lot like this lately—laying at an awkward angle just so he could watch Mark watch him slowly drift to sleep.

"I told you..." Mark said quietly.

Jinyoung blinked, his eyes heavy and fighting to stay open. _Had_ Mark ever told him? He tried to remember, and couldn't...

_'I guess it doesn't matter...'_

That night, he slept more deeply than he had in days. He dreamt he was in his living room, pacing as if he was waiting for someone...

He hit a solid, warm body as he turned. A soft chuckle was followed by arms wrapping securely around his waist.

"Jinyoung-ah..." Mark pulled him closer. The deep, breathy way he said Jinyoung's name sent a shiver down his spine.

Mark was so solid and _real_ pressed against him, it was as if they were really standing in the middle of his apartment. Hardly believing it, he stepped back just enough to trace his fingers along Mark's face, across his cheekbones, and along his jaw...

Mark playfully bit at his fingers when they came to his lips. "Hi."

Jinyoung let out a sharp breath. Mark was so much more beautiful standing in front of him. Holding him. Not trapped in a mirror, but _touching_ him. He drank in Mark's appearance, trying to memorize everything from the freckle just above his lip to the way his hair fell in front of his eyes.

"Hi," he finally replied.

Mark smiled, showing all of his perfectly straight, pointed teeth. "Confused?"

"Very."

Chuckling again, Mark pressed his lips against Jinyoung's forehead. "It's just a dream, Jinyoung-ah."

His voice faded with the apartment, and suddenly Jinyoung's eyes were fluttering open and he was staring across his room at the window. The grey-blue light told him he had only been asleep for a few hours.

He sat up quickly and looked at the mirror, hoping to see Mark as he always did. When nothing but his own room reflected back at him, he slumped against the pillows, wishing he had been able to stay asleep _just_ a bit longer. It had all felt so...real. His fingers brushed across the spot where he thought he could still feel the press of Mark's lips. Sighing, his hand fell to his side. It was just a dream...

With one last glance at the mirror, Jinyoung began another day on too little sleep and too many unanswered questions.

 

That night, Mark never appeared. Jinyoung tossed and turned and worried if he would ever see him again...

 

He spent another day under the concerned looks of his friends, but couldn't bring himself to care much. He felt like he wasn't entirely physically present. He sat in their usual cafe with an untouched cup of coffee going cold in front of him, responding to Jaebum whenever he was spoken to, but with his mind entirely elsewhere.

"Maybe you should go home and get some sleep..." he finally said, after two more days of watching Jinyoung become increasingly gaunt and worn from his sleepless nights.

When Jinyoung opened his mouth to argue, Jaebum cut him off, "I'll tell the professor you're not feeling well."

Even as he flashed his best friend a grateful smile, he still insisted, "I'm fine...really," he added under Jaebum's disbelieving look.

Unable to take yet another night of tossing and turning, he bought a small pack of sleeping pills that could be purchased without a prescription. He just needed _something._

 

He slept for the first time in days. And once again, he dreamt. Only this time, it was as if Mark had been the one waiting for _him_. Jinyoung gaped as he stopped just inside the cafe that looked exactly like the one he frequented. Mark smiled at him from the couch in the corner he and Jaebum usually occupied.

"Tell me about your day?" he asked.

Jinyoung sunk into the armchair across from him. "I don't understand..." he breathed.

Mark tilted his head.

"You..." Jinyoung felt his chest constrict. He had missed Mark. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew the idea should have terrified him. Instead, he simply felt relieved. "I missed you."

Mark smiled. And Jinyoung told him about his day.


	3. Chapter 3

He awoke with the bright afternoon sun streaming through his window.

_2:02pm._

He stared at the clock. Surely that couldn't be right...

When he checked his phone, _2:02pm_ stared back at him.

He had slept nearly 15 hours...

There were several messages from Jaebum and one from Youngjae asking if he was ok, and if he had gotten any sleep.

_"I'm fine,"_ he replied (he seemed to be staying that a lot lately). _"Tell Jae I'm sorry I won't be able it make it tonight..."_

He tossed the phone aside and got out of bed. To his surprise, Mark was smiling at him from the mirror.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

Jinyoung nodded, even though he felt like he hadn't slept at all. "I dreamt about you," he said.

Mark's head tilted to the side the same way it did in the dream. Jinyoung's heart did a little skip.

"Was it a good dream?"

Jinyoung smiled, remembering Mark's attentive gaze, soft smile, and little giggles whenever he found something amusing. "Yeah...it was."

 

That night, Jinyoung swallowed the pills without hesitation and slept. This time, Mark once again met him in his apartment.

"Tell me about your day?" he murmured as he wrapped his arms around Jinyoung and rested their foreheads together.

It was so intimate, Jinyoung almost wondered if it was _too_ intimate. But Mark's arms felt secure and safe. They were so close, he could feel the warmth of Mark's breath, and wondered what it would be like to close the gap between them so the only thing he could feel was Mark's lips against his. With a small sigh, he leaned forward. After all, he thought, it was just a dream...  


He awoke with the feel of Mark's lips pressed against his, soft and willing and gentle. Swallowing, he sat up and looked towards the mirror. Mark was smiling back at him.

"Good dream?"

_'Something is wrong_ ,' said a small voice. Jinyoung pushed it away like an annoying insect buzzing in his ear.

"Yeah," he answered. "I dreamt about you again."

 

Seeing Mark became an obsession. When he wasn't home, he wanted to be. When he was, he spent hours checking the mirror, waiting for him to appear. He would pick up his small bottle of sleeping pills, shake two out, stare at them, then toss them back in the bottle. He was having a harder and harder time sleeping without them, but the part of him that sometimes warned him about Mark, was still wary about becoming dependent.

_'They're not prescription or anything,'_ he reminded himself, whenever he finally gave in. _'Just something you picked up off the shelf...it's only temporary...'_

The nights Jaebum convinced him to finally leave the apartment, Jinyoung drank, hoping his thoughts would become too muddy to sort through and he wouldn't think about Mark. Instead, he learned Mark's touches felt so much more _real_ on those nights.

"Tell me about your day?" Mark whispered in his ear one night.

Jinyoung smiled and let himself melt into Mark's kisses. The small voice that had told him to be afraid was becoming more faint and muffled, and Jinyoung once again, brushed it aside. Even Jaebum, who was becoming increasingly concerned with his sudden weight loss and chronic exhaustion, only made him insist more that he was fine.

_"You're taking sleeping pills?"_ he asked weeks later (Jinyoung had decided to get a prescription a few days ago when his off-the-shelf pills could no longer keep him asleep through the night).

Jinyoung looked up from the project they were supposed to be working on, and saw Jaebum standing at the entrance of the living room, holding up the small bottle. He looked both worried and furious.

"What the hell is going on, Jinyoung?"

He jumped up and snatched the bottle from  Jaebum's hands.

_"Nothing,"_ he insisted, hurrying to the bathroom and stashing the pills in the far back of his medicine cabinet. He was such an idiot for leaving them out...

"I'm _fine_ ," he added when Jaebum fixed him with a disbelieving look.

_'Are you?'_ said the voice he had been ignoring for weeks. _'Why won't you tell him about Mark?'_

_'He wouldn't understand...'_

_'He's your best friend.'_

_'He wouldn't understand,'_ he thought more firmly.

The voice fell silent.

"Jinyoung..." Jaebum looked at him, worry etched across his face. "You're not _fine_...you miss classes, you barely leave the apartment, you look like you've hardly eaten _or_ slept—"

"That's why I have sleeping pills,"  he replied dryly. He collapsed on the couch, suddenly wishing Jaebum would leave. He was exhausted.

Jaebum sat on the coffee table in front of him, so Jinyoung had no choice but to stare at him or the floor. He chose the floor. He knew if he met Jaebum's eyes, it was all over. Jaebum would just _know_. He would know Jinyoung needed sleeping pills because they were the only way he could see Mark and touch him without feeling cold glass against his fingers.

"You know you can tell me anything," Jaebum said softly.

Jinyoung smiled. "I know."

_'Just not about Mark,'_ he added silently.

 

Once Jaebum left, Jinyoung pulled out his bottle of pills. For the first time, he hesitated. He stared at them sitting in his palm.

_'Get rid of them—'_ said the voice in the back of his head. ' _Flush them down the toilet and get rid of that mirror.'_

 

Something wasn’t right about Mark. He knew. He knew he should even be _afraid_ of him. But the need to see Mark in front of him again, to feel the solid, real presence of him he couldn't get standing on the other side of a mirror, was like a compulsion—an addiction.

 

He swallowed the pills. And dreamt again that night.

 


	4. Chapter 4

He knew it was his own hand wrapped around himself. He could feel the hard, heavy weight in his palm as his stroked. But another part of him—the part caught in a haze of alcohol and the pills he had taken, saw Mark above him. It was _Mark's_ hands on him. _Mark's_ lips moving down his neck. _Mark's_ voice murmuring against his skin, telling him he was beautiful.

Jinyoung gasped out his release. He lifted his hips, searching— _wanting—_ more. Mark smiled down at him as his eyes drifted shut. When he opened them again, Mark was gone. It was just him. Alone.

The morning sun told him he had been asleep for nearly twelve hours...

He didn't even remember getting into bed. The previous night came back to him in fragments...

Jaebum, worried about him. Youngjae, pouring him a drink at some bar Jinyoung couldn't remember the name of. Mark, asking him about his day. Mark, kissing his way along his jaw...

He shook the image from his head and got out of bed.

He tried. For one day he tried not to think about Mark. But it was like a spell. When Jinyoung was with him, he never wanted to leave. Waking up had become something he dreaded before he even fell asleep.

_'What if you didn’t have to wake up,'_ said a voice.

He eyed the two pills he didn't even remember putting in his hand. How many would it take…

His phone buzzed next to him. Jaebum.

_‘Dinner tonight?’_

He glanced at the time. It wasn't even four. Startled, he threw the pills in the sink and backed out of the bathroom. A sudden clarity came over him.

He replied to Jaebum, _‘Yeah...meet me in the library?’_

For a single, brief moment, he paused in the doorway of his bedroom and glanced at the mirror. Mark wasn’t there…

His shoulders dropped in relief. In disappointment. In some indescribable feeling between the two...

He gripped his phone tighter in his hand. It wasn't too late...he could message Jaebum and tell him he changed his mind...that he just wanted to spend the night at home…

It wouldn't be _unusual_. Not for him. Not lately, anyway.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. No doubt from Jaebum. With one last glance at the mirror, he left the apartment with difficulty.

 

The night had been normal. And boring. Even when he tried to keep his thoughts from straying to Mark, he found himself wishing he had never left the apartment at all. And the secret, worried glances shared between Jaebum and Youngjae were beginning to irk him...

 

When he finally returned home, Mark was waiting for him.

"Tell me about your day?"

What had terrified him that afternoon suddenly seemed irrational— _crazy._ He needed Mark. Without him, his life lost meaning. It was just a mundane, insignificant, easily replaceable existence. If Jinyoung ceased to exist in this world...it would move on. His friends would move on. Even his family would move on...

If Mark lost Jinyoung, he lost everything. He was the only person for whom Jinyoung was a complete, irreplaceable existence.

He stumbled into the bathroom, head still fuzzy with alcohol, and pulled out his bottle of pills.


	5. Chapter 5

"Jinyoung-ah..." Mark looked at him. A wave of emotion hit him so hard it was as if the breath had been knocked out of him. “Can you stay a little longer?”

He froze. Mark's words weighed down on him. He could feel the sadness—the loneliness—in his voice. The onslaught of emotion suddenly made sense—so much so that Jinyoung knew he should have realized it immediately. He felt Mark's emotions as if they were his own. They were intense and overwhelming and…

 _...dark_.

Mark didn’t just want Jinyoung to stay with him—he wanted to possess him. He wanted Jinyoung to be _his._ And terrifyingly, Jinyoung wanted that too...

 _‘Wake up_ ,’ a frantic voice whispered in his ear. It sounded just like Jaebum…

_‘Jinyoung-ah, please wake up—’_

This time it was louder. The world faded as it always did. Slower this time. Mark's sadness suffocated him...

He wanted to stay. Just a little longer…

He awoke to a soft curse and the sound of someone collapsing onto the bed next to him.

“ _Jesus,_ Jinyoung…” it was Jaebum. “What the hell are you doing to yourself.”

He looked past Jaebum's slumped figure—half laying across the bed, half kneeling on the floor—and saw the half-finished bottle of wine and his pill bottle with the top still off.

His heart gave a single, horrified jolt as he realized he couldn't remember what he had done last night after returning home, but could easily understand from what was in front of him. The fear quickly subsided as Mark's disappointed expression swam to the front of his mind. He stared at the bottle of pills. They looked as ominous as they did inviting...

“ _Jinyoung,”_ Jaebum’s voice took on that stern tone it often did when he had called Jinyoung's name one-too-many times without a response. “ _What is going on?”_

He sat up with a groan, a sudden headache pounding behind his eyes. He dug his palms into them, hoping for _some_ relief, but it did nothing. He just wanted to go back to sleep….

Under Jaebum’s concern, he knew he couldn't…

“Nothing,” he insisted.

When Jaebum continued to stare at him disbelievingly, he sighed. “Just stress…”

“I almost called an _ambulance,”_ he said. “What the hell were you thinking taking those things with _alcohol?”_

“I'm _sorry,”_ he said, trying not to sound as irritated as he felt.

He knew Jaebum was only worried. If he was honest with himself, a part of him was still unnerved by how completely Mark had taken over his life. But every time he thought about getting rid of the mirror, a stronger, more insistent thought told him to keep it.

“How did you get in, anyway?” he muttered.

“You left your door unlocked.”

Sighing again, he forced himself out of bed and let Jaebum make him a light lunch. No matter how much he insisted he was ok, Jaebum refused to leave. Even after conceding to stay in for the night rather than go out with their friends, Jaebum ignored him when he told him to go home.

“Is this really necessary?” he asked, watching Jaebum throw a blanket on the couch.

Jaebum turned and narrowed his eyes at him. “Something is going on with you—”

Jinyoung opened his mouth to argue but immediately shut it again under Jaebum’s stern glare.

“I don't care how many times you tell me you're ok,” he continued. “I know you’re not.”

 

Jinyoung spent a week faking smiles and interest in his friends' conversations and his classes. He took one sleeping pill a night and woke up well-rested but miserable. For days, Mark appeared briefly, looking as forlorn as Jinyoung felt.

"Tell me about your day?" he asked as Jinyoung stumbled in one night, drunk, exhausted, and unhappy. When he didn't answer, Mark sighed sadly. "I miss you, Jinyoung-ah."

"I miss you too," he mumbled before drifting to sleep.

 

Mark greeted him in his dream with a hard, possessive kiss. His fingers tangled through Jinyoung's hair and pulled with a harsh tug. Jinyoung gasped. Mark kissed him harder, biting at his bottom lip and licking into his mouth.

"I hate it when you leave."

They collapsed onto the couch. Mark ripped Jinyoung's shirt over his head and latched onto his collarbone. His hands splayed across Jinyoung's stomach.

He moaned into Mark's kisses and let him settled between his legs. He hated leaving too...

 _'You don't have to,'_ the same intrusive thought he had been hearing for weeks, returned. _'Stay.’_

The last word sounded like Mark. As if he had whispered it in Jinyoung's ear just before he woke up. His eyes fluttered open, and he saw Mark in the mirror again. Staring.

_'Stay...'_

Jinyoung closed his eyes again.

That night. He went to bed. And this time...he stayed.


	6. EPILOGUE

"Yeah, I found this really interesting mirror at some secondhand shop down the street..." Jackson paced around his small studio apartment, phone held to his ear. He had just moved from Hong Kong to Seoul to teach at a friend's fencing gym.

Propped against one of the many unopened boxes was a mirror with a bronze frame and Chinese characters engraved into the glass. The oddest thing was that they didn't even seem to make sense. They were just characters with meanings like "dream" and "sleep" and "day" which alternated around the edge of the glass.

"Tonight?" he glanced around his apartment. His friend had just offered to take him out for dinner and to show him around. He was barely unpacked, but he had so many boxes he didn't even know where to begin...

"Sure," he smiled. "See you then."

He managed to unpack a few boxes for the kitchen and even hung the mirror on the wall above his dresser. When he stepped back to see how it looked, he was once again struck by how odd it was. He felt almost _drawn_ to it, even in the store...

His phone vibrated in his pocket. His friend had texted him, letting him know he was already outside his building. With one last glance at the mirror, he left. 

When he returned home, a little unsteady on his feet, but in good spirits, he was greeted by a figure on the other side of his mirror. He blinked. Once. Twice. Then let out a startled shout. He threw himself back against the door, staring at the handsome young man who was smiling at him from _inside his mirror._

He had a few drinks, but he knew he wasn't _nearly_ drunk enough to be seeing things...

"Don't be afraid, Jackson," it said.

Jackson swallowed. It— _he—_ knew his name...

"I'm Jinyoung...it's nice to meet you."

The mirror smiled gently at the startled boy from Hong Kong. Or rather...the face it now wore, smiled.

"Tell me about your day?"


End file.
